Award partner: Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Award presented by Gabriel Tan, head of financial communications, Greater China, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Acceptance speech from Ellis Cheng, chief financial officer, Kerry Logistics Network
Partner interview with Gabriel Tan, head of financial communications, Greater China, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Annual reports have come a long way since the first corporate report was published by US Steel in 1903 and certified by Price Waterhouse & Co (now PwC). Today, an annual report is the chance for a company – big or small – to make a bold statement about its brand and engage with a number of different stakeholders. The reports offer genuine insights into a company at its highest level, describing the business with thorough and relevant information.
At this year’s IR Magazine Awards – Greater China, the annual reports of small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap companies were a thrill to read. Judges at the prestigious award show will have a hard time choosing between the well-articulated equity stories, differentiating them by ease of flow and consistency/complementarity, and several have displayed state-of-the-art design.
Ahead of the awards show, we would like to share some of our insights into what our team at Hill+Knowlton believes are suggested best practices for creating annual reports on behalf of small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap companies.
This category represents a group that could outperform all expectations next year, with stocks part of the China Mid Cap Index on a bull run right now, outperforming the overall China index and their counterparts in emerging markets.
Similar to small-cap annual reports, mid-cap reports need clear and concise language that gives the reader a holistic understanding of how the company has dealt with changing economic, financial, ESG and Covid-19 challenges. But there is more expected from this group as investors also look for a clear vision for the future, especially in a year of changing business models, increased pressures to digitize operations and fluctuating demand.
Best practices likely include the use of visual and interactive content like graphics, videos, multimedia and conferencing technologies so creativity and effective project management skills are desired and celebrated.
Gabriel Tan, head of financial communications for Greater China, Hill+Knowlton Strategies